(1300 hours)

   His breathing was heavy as he turned the corner and sprinted down the long, dark hallway.

   "Mothership! Do you copy!" He yelled into his walkie talkie.

   He was forced to come to a stop, a large, locked door stood in front of him.

   "This is mothership, do you copy?" Came the static response from his walkie talkie.

   "I read you, this is Sergeant O'Reilly requesting immediate pick up. Location is-"

   He was cut off by a loud growl.

   He dropped the walkie talkie as he slowly turned, looking down the other end of the hallway, where it stood.

   He slowly knelt down and pulled a long knife from his boot, standing back up in a defensive position. "Come and get some, you piece of shit!"

   "Sergeant, are you there? What's your location?" Came another static response from his walkie talkie.

   He let out one final scream as he ran down the hallway, meeting his opponent halfway.

   "O'Reilly, do you copy? What's your location, soldier?"

   The communications officer shook her head, slowly taking off her headset. "They're gone, lieutenant."

Collins gave her a stern nod. "Thank you, corporal, you are dismissed."

She nodded before standing up and heading out of the room.

Collins sat at her desk and put her headset on. "This is mothership, contact captain Briggs and get him down here immediately."

She slowly slid the headset off as she leaned back in her chair...

(1400 hours)

Loud rock music blared from the speakers as Locke and Skinner competed to see who could bench press the most.

"Fifty units on Locke." Preacher said.

"Same." Doc added.

"You know, it's not much of a bet when everyone puts their money on one person." Harley said from her spot in the back of the room.

She leaned back in her chair and kicked her legs up on the table.

"You gonna put money on Skinner then?" Doc asked.

Harley chuckled. "Hell no, I only bet when I know I'm gonna win."

Everyone laughed, except Skinner. "So, no one's betting on me?"

Everyone glanced at each other and shook their heads.

Then, Skinner turned his attention to Piper. "How about you, sweet cheeks?"

Piper rolled her eyes. "I don't gamble."

"Not even for me?" He asked, winking at her.

Harley stood up. "Especially not for you."

Skinner sat up on the bench. "She's an adult, she can answer for herself."

As they stared each other down, Locke spoke up. "Are you gonna whine or are we gonna lift some weights?"

Skinner finally pulled his gaze from Harley. "Fine, let's do this."

Skinner sat back and was about to lift the weight off the rack when captain Briggs stepped into the room. "Attention!"

Everyone at once stood at attention.

Briggs walked over and sat in Harley's seat. "At ease."

They did as they were told.

"Now, not to ruin your kitty party, but we've just been called for a very important mission." He said.

"What's the mission, sir?" Harley asked.

"Well, we will be accompanying lieutenant Collins on a search and rescue mission to earth. She had a research team go missing there and she needs our help finding them... or finding out what happened to them."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, cap, but we don't do search and rescue." Skinner said.

Briggs stood up and walked in front of him. "Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but you do what I tell you to do. Is that understood, private?"

A few muffled laughs rang out as Skinner nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good, now hit the showers and be ready to leave at o600 hours tomorrow morning."

"Sir, yes sir." They all said in unison.

Briggs gave them a nod before exiting the room.

Locke back-handed skinners shoulder. "You like cleaning toilets or something?"

They continued to bicker back and forth as everyone headed for the showers...

"Want some company?" Skinner asked Piper as she opened the door to her stall.

She just shook her head before closing and locking the door.

She let the warm water run down her back as she waited for everyone else to finish up. And, when they finally did, she heard the familiar knock on the door.

She smirked as she opened it. Harley stood naked in the doorway. "Aren't you gonna invite me in?"

Piper pulled her in for a deep kiss, Harley reaching back to pull the door closed...

(0600 hours)

   "Rise and shine!" Briggs shouted into the sleeping bay.

   Everyone got to their feet.

   "Excellent response time, soldiers. Now, I want everyone loaded up and in the hanger bay by 0630, is that understood?"

   "Sir, yes sir." They all replied.

   Briggs left the room and everyone quickly changed into their uniforms and loaded up their weapons and gear before heading down to the hanger bay...

   Everyone stood in front of the small transport ship that would take them to earth.

   Collins stepped in front of the group. "Now, as you're all aware, my research team went missing at approximately 1300 hours yesterday. We haven't had contact since then and we're not sure if they're still alive. That's why you're here. Your team is the best of the best and I'll be expecting that from all of you."

   Everyone gave her a salute.

   She nodded before walking into the ship.

   "Alright, everyone on board." Briggs said before following Collins into the ship.

   After getting buckled in, the pilot started the engines. "Ten seconds to take off." He said.

   Piper held her harness tight as the ship slowly lifted from the floor.

   Harley squeezed her hand. "Here we go."

   Piper gave her a small smile as the ship rocketed off into space...

   (0722 hours)

   The transport ship touched down on earths barren surface.

   The pilot flipped a few switches and the ships engines turned off. He got out of his seat to address Collins and Briggs. "I'll be back at 0600 sharp, don't be late."

   Collins nodded as Briggs turned to the team. "Alright, you heard the man. We have less than twenty-four hours to find this missing team, so let's get a move on."

   Everyone quickly stepped off the ship. The big door closed behind them and soon enough, the ship blasted off back into space.

   The team took in their surroundings, tall dead trees stood all around them and a huge, dilapidated building stood in front of them.

   As they marched towards the building, Skinner spoke up. "This is major bullshit, cap."

   "Do you always have to bitch?" Harley asked.

   "I'm just saying. Looking for some team, that's probably dead anyway, way out here in the boonies was not in my job description. We do search and destroy, not search and rescue."

   "You sound like a little girl." Piper said.

   Skinner turned to her with a smirk. "I'll be whatever you want me to be, baby."

   Harley and Piper rolled their eyes.

   "Lay off, Skinner." Doc said.

   Skinner turned his attention to Doc, shooting him a menacing glare. "You gonna make me?"

   Doc returned his glare. "Maybe I will."

   "That's enough! We have to stay focused." Briggs interrupted.

   Piper rested her hand on Docs shoulder. "C'mon."

   Doc finally tore his eyes from Skinner and continued walking towards the building.

   "This is some team you got here." Collins said.

   "And, who the hell asked you anyways?" Skinner asked.

   They all stopped at the front doors, Collins turned to Skinner. "Your commanding officer, that's who."

   Skinner looked like he wanted to protest, but decided against it.

   Collins nodded before turning to the doors.

   Locke kicked them open. "After you, ma'am." He said, letting Collins in first, everyone else following behind.

   They stood in a lobby, which was overgrown with weeds and falling apart.

   "Alright, we'll split up into two teams. Locke, Skinner, Harley, you're with me." Briggs said.

   Harley gave Pipers hand a gentle squeeze. "C'ya around."

   Piper smiled. "You better."

   Harley laughed before following the others down a dark hallway.

   Piper turned and followed Collins, Preacher, and Doc down another...